You can’t buy iron now, only steel.
They say she’s very bright.
If one decides to live in the country then one should be prepared for the unexpected.
For more information about generic pronouns, see paragraphs 1.119 to 1.123.
You can also use the indefinite pronouns someone or something. This allows you to mention a performer, without specifying who or what they are. For more information about indefinite pronouns, see paragraphs 1.128 to 1.141.
I think someone’s calling you.
Something has upset him.
Ergative verbs can also enable you to avoid mentioning the performer of an action. For example, instead of saying She opened the door, you can say The door opened. See the section on ergative verbs in paragraphs 3.59 to 3.67.
mentioning the performer with by
9.14 When you use the passive, you can mention the person or thing that performed the action at the end of the clause by using by. This puts emphasis on the performer because the end of the clause is an important position.
His best friend was killed by a grenade, which exploded under his car.
Some of the children were adopted by local couples.
This view has been challenged by a number of workers.
mentioning things or methods used
9.15 As with active forms of verbs, you can mention something that the performer used to perform the action after the preposition with.
A circle was drawn in the dirt with a stick.
Moisture must be drawn out first with salt.
You can mention the method using an -ing form after by.
The strong taste can be removed by changing the cooking water.
passive of verbs referring to states
9.16 A few transitive verbs refer to states rather than actions. When some of these verbs are used in the passive, the person or thing that creates that state is put after the preposition with.
The room was filled with people.
The railings were decorated with thousands of bouquets.
Here is a list of transitive verbs referring to states that are used with with in the passive:
cover
cram
crowd
decorate
fill
litter
ornament
pack
stuff
teem
throng
However, by is used with some verbs that describe a state.
The building was illuminated by thousands of lights.
Here is a list of transitive verbs referring to states that are used with by in the passive:
conceal
exceed
illuminate
inhabit
occupy
overshadow
Some verbs, such as adorn and surround can be used with with or by after them.
Her right hand was covered with blood.
One entire wall was covered by a gigantic chart of the English Channel.
The house was surrounded with policemen.
The building was surrounded by a deep green lawn.
Here is a list of transitive verbs that can be used with either with or by in the passive:
adorn
besiege
cover
encircle
overrun
surround
There are also several verbs that are used with in.
She claimed that the drug was contained in a cold cure given to her by the team doctor.
Free transport was not included in the contract.
The walls of her flat are covered in dirt.
Here is a list of transitive verbs that can be used with in in the passive:
contain
cover
embody
include
involve
subsume
Note that cover can be used with in, by, or with.
phrasal verbs
9.17 Phrasal verbs that consist of a transitive verb followed by an adverb or preposition, or by an adverb and a preposition, can be used in the passive. Lists of phrasal verbs are given in paragraphs 3.83 to 3.116.
Two totally opposing views have been put forward to explain this phenomenon.
Millions of tons of good earth are being washed away each year.
I was talked into meeting Norman Granz at a posh London restaurant.
Such expectations are drummed into every growing child.
verbs usually used in the passive
9.18 Because of their meaning, some transitive verbs are usually used in the passive. The performer of the action is usually thought to be not worth mentioning or is not known.
He was deemed to be the guardian of the child.
The meeting is scheduled for February 14.
The young men were alleged to have rampaged through the hotel.
The following transitive verbs are usually used in the passive:
be acclaimed
be alleged
be annihilated
be baffled
be born
be compressed
be conditioned
be construed
be couched
be cremated
be dazed
be deafened
be debased
be deemed
be disconcerted
be dubbed
be dwarfed
be earmarked
be empowered
be fined
be gutted
be headed
be horrified
be hospitalized
be indicted
be inundated
be jailed
be mesmerized
be misdirected
be overcome
be paralysed
be penalized
be perpetrated
be pilloried
be populated
be prized
be punctuated
be rationed
be reconciled
be reprieved
be reunited
be rumoured
be scheduled
be shipped
be shipwrecked
be short-listed
be shrouded
be staffed
be stranded
be strewn
be subsumed
be suspended
be swamped
be wounded
The following phrasal verbs are usually used in the passive:
be bowled over
be caught up
be handed down
be pensioned off
be ploughed up
be rained off
be scaled down
be struck off
be sworn in
be taken aback
be written into
They were bowled over by the number of visitors who came to the show.